Last night, Massachusetts elected Scott Brown, a Republican, in a special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Ted Kennedy.  The election of Brown eliminates the Democrats’ 60 seat, filibuster proof majority in the Senate.  This election also has implications for the healthcare reform debate as Brown has vowed to oppose the current bill.  There are a few options to move forward with the current healthcare reform bill. One would be for the House to pass the Senate’s version of the bill as is and send it to the President.  Another option would be to reconcile the House and Senate bills and send them back through each chamber for approval. At this time, the next steps are still unclear as many Representatives and Senators are viewing the Massachusetts vote as a referendum on the current legislative activity, including healthcare, with major implications on the mid-term elections this fall. For more information about the election, please visit: online.wsj.com/article/ SB10001424052748703837004575012721465325974.html.